Fawad calls for capacity building of institutions

Stresses need for modern technology to meet new challenges

ISLAMABAD:

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday said the media was an important tool of narrative building and warfare at the international level.

“The capacity building of institutions is vital to counter the anti-Pakistan propaganda of enemy countries,” he said while addressing a seminar on ‘Lawfare and Pakistan’, organised by the Centre for Law and Security (CLAS) here.

In the war against terrorism, the minister said that over 70,000 Pakistanis were martyred but not a “single book or research study” was available in the West highlighting Pakistan’s sacrifices.

Referring to a global network of over 800 pro-Indian fake websites and think-tanks unearthed last year, he said they were being used to defame Pakistan and influence decision-making process in the world.

A lot of work had been done on international law at the international level, he said, adding that Pakistan had several senior legal experts having great experience in international law who were an asset for the nation, but there was a “need to introduce” modern technology at the institutional level to meet the new challenges at fast pace.

Fawad said that facing the challenges posed by the modern times was difficult but not impossible as there was no dearth of human resource. “The challenges can be overcome with unity and capacity building of institutions,” he added.

When over 85 million people died in the Second World War, he said, a new thinking emerged that the world could not afford such wars in future and the term ‘lawfare’, which could be interpreted as law and security strategy, was coined.

The colonial and oppressive powers, he added, used the ‘lawfare’ to crush the subjugated people by using international law to achieve their ulterior motives. Many states had been using the ‘lawfare’ to damage the interests of their rival countries, the minister said.